Generally, I've found the search info thing to be a hoax. It's a bad indicator of whether someone is looking for random/walk-up RP or not. (Not to mention how weird it is to have to actually look it up). Either walk up or move on. Or send a /tell if concerned.
But there's also a large portion of people who also just simply like to use the public places for private RP or to idle. Short of actively approaching or sending a tell, you'll never know who's who. And there probably isn't a whole lot you can do on your side if you're putting in the effort to meet people.
Personally, I fall into that "I like to coordinate my RP" group. I don't do walk-ups well because I tend to not be looking at the screen or might be otherwise busy. But that also means I go long periods of not RPing because I'm not in the mood to do so or I don't reach out. (Which means it's my fault if I want RP and don't help make it happen).
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As an aside, the Grindstone is probably one of the more difficult places to get into a group of people's RP, given its very large crowds recently. I'm probably not alone in saying the chatlog scroll is so fast that even when the log window takes up 1/4 of my screen, it's extremely easy to miss a post. And if someone isn't looking out for your text in particular, it's like tossing a needle into a haystack. Sure, someone might jump on it and get pricked, but chances are, looking at it, nobody's going to notice unless they're already looking for it.
I'd recommend a little coordination with people. The RPC isn't the only resource out there! Tumblr has some, and there's also a portion of RPers who don't use anything but the game! (I have no idea how they accomplish such feats).
But there's also a large portion of people who also just simply like to use the public places for private RP or to idle. Short of actively approaching or sending a tell, you'll never know who's who. And there probably isn't a whole lot you can do on your side if you're putting in the effort to meet people.
Personally, I fall into that "I like to coordinate my RP" group. I don't do walk-ups well because I tend to not be looking at the screen or might be otherwise busy. But that also means I go long periods of not RPing because I'm not in the mood to do so or I don't reach out. (Which means it's my fault if I want RP and don't help make it happen).
-
As an aside, the Grindstone is probably one of the more difficult places to get into a group of people's RP, given its very large crowds recently. I'm probably not alone in saying the chatlog scroll is so fast that even when the log window takes up 1/4 of my screen, it's extremely easy to miss a post. And if someone isn't looking out for your text in particular, it's like tossing a needle into a haystack. Sure, someone might jump on it and get pricked, but chances are, looking at it, nobody's going to notice unless they're already looking for it.
I'd recommend a little coordination with people. The RPC isn't the only resource out there! Tumblr has some, and there's also a portion of RPers who don't use anything but the game! (I have no idea how they accomplish such feats).
